Blue Iron
by shutupfrenchie
Summary: A collection of short stories about Vivienne and Blue Lavellan, because I ship obscure things and must generate my own content. And I generate a lot of content too short to post separately (plus I despise coming up with titles, so if they're all in one story I'll only have to come up with one heh).
1. First Impressions

The Herald of Andraste was not at all what she'd expected.

She'd heard the stories, glorious tales of the intrepid Dalish elf who had cheated fate, survived the Conclave, walked through the Fade unscathed and been dumped on the Inquisition's doorstep by Andraste herself. Other stories were not so favorable, and painted her as a murderer and a blasphemer. Some exaggeration was to be expected of course, but as First Enchanter Vivienne watched Blue Lavellan from the Chantry doors, she had to wonder if there was some sort of mix-up regarding the Herald's identity.

The girl didn't look like a hero _or_ a villain. Her presence was about as commanding as a nug's, and the way she carried herself gave off the distinct air of not wanting to be seen—of wanting to sink through the ground, never to resurface. Her voice was soft, low, shaky on the rare occasions when she raised it. And, most disappointing, she never seemed to have an opinion on the very important issues they were faced with.

Templars, mages, clerics, nobles? No one could seem to get a definitive answer from her about _anything_ ; she would shuffle her feet, shrug her shoulders, and settle her big blue eyes on anything but the person awaiting a response. It was beginning to worry Vivienne. How could an Inquisition function with a leader—and there was no doubt everyone was eyeing Blue as the leader—who refused comment on every issue presented to her?

That evening she sent a messenger to fetch Blue, but after an hour he returned, ears drooping guiltily.

"No sign of her, ma'am," he said. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for more. "Ah… I checked the blacksmith first 'cause I hear she likes making stuff… and I checked the tavern, I checked all the houses, the apothecary, I asked everyone. No one's seen her. Seeker Pentaghast says she runs off in the woods outside town sometimes though. Should I… check there, or..?"

"Thank you, darling, but I'll handle it," she said, rising from her chair and strapping her staff to her back. "You may go." He nodded and hurried out into the cold.

Vivienne was only a minute behind him, ignoring the cold bite of the wind and formulating a plan of attack almost mindlessly; if the girl ran off into the woods so often it was probably because no one ever found her there. She wouldn't be expecting company, a clear advantage for Vivienne. Make your move first, catch them off guard, don't give them a chance to catch their breath—a strategy that had always served her well. It was instinct by now, a reflex.

It didn't take long to find the single trail of footprints that continued towards the treeline after the others turned away. She followed them for a while, off the trail and into the snow, over hills and through trees, until they ended in a clearing in a grove of bare trees. At first glance it appeared the clearing was empty, but with a second scan she saw the almost imperceptible, elf-shaped shimmer in the air.

"Stealth powder?" she observed, stepping closer, staring at the spot where the girl should be. As she drew closer, the faint spectral outline of a face and body came into focus. "An amusing trick. I know you're there, dear. Please, it's very rude to be invisible during conversation."

At once the illusion fell away, leaving a wide-eyed elf staring back at her with nervous blue eyes.

"Sorry," she said softly. "I just heard—I thought you were… never mind."

Vivienne tilted her head, frowned. "Thought I was what, darling?"

"Cassandra," Blue whispered, and Vivienne couldn't help a laugh.

"She is rather frightening, isn't she?" she chuckled, never taking her eyes off Blue as she stalked her way across the clearing. Blue fidgeted under the unwavering gaze, her already wind-bitten cheeks flushing deeper. "A very decisive woman, with strong opinions. I can't help noticing _you've_ been silent on every issue that's come up thus far. Why is that, I wonder?"

"I… I don't know?" Blue stammered. Vivienne was a few feet away now and had, for the moment, stopped advancing. "I suppose I don't see why it matters?" That gave her pause; she'd assumed the girl had been purposely withholding her thoughts for some sinister reason… was she really just insecure? She wasn't sure if that was better or worse.

"You think your opinions don't matter?" she asked, and Blue shrugged. "That's a yes or no question, my dear." Blue nodded. "And why not? Darling, if you're to lead these people—"

"I'm not leading anything!" Blue protested with surprising conviction; it faltered, and her eyes fell back towards the snow between them. "I'm just an elf, ma'am."

"You're an icon, like it or not," Vivienne said. "And that means people will expect you to lead. That means you'll have to make decisions. You very well could be holding the future of Thedas in your hands—" at that, Blue lifted her left hand and grimaced at the mark. "And no, I don't mean the mark." She hesitated only a second before reaching out, taking Blue's hand and lowering it. "The mark isn't what will shape the world, darling, it's this—" she tapped lightly on Blue's head with her free hand—"and this" –and she pressed her fingertips to Blue's chest. "Your mind and your heart. The mark is a tool, but your thoughts, your feelings and most of all your actions are what will make the difference. So yes, your opinions _do_ matter." She stepped back, leaving Blue flustered and blushing deeply.

"It's just so much," she choked out after a minute. "Before all this 'chosen one' business I used to go weeks without talking to more than 2 or 3 people in a day. Now there's dozens in an hour. Sometimes it's... it's just..." Her eyes filled with tears, and she turned away as Vivienne stepped forward in concern. "No, I'm fine. Give me a minute."

"Herald..."

"Could you just call me Blue, please? It would be nice if someone did."

"Blue..." she said deliberately; the elf looked at her through watery eyes, wiping away tears and smudged makeup, and something in her stirred- pity, sympathy, exasperation, fondness, she wasn't entirely sure. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, my dear, but life seldom takes the turns we expect it to. It's up to every one of us to do the best we can with what we're given. You _could_ lie down and let it bowl you over, of course. Or you could look around, get acquainted with the circumstance, and make it yours. It's entirely up to you."

"Is that what you did?" Blue asked, and Vivienne blinked sharply, the only indication of the jolt of surprise that had run through her at the lens suddenly being turned on her. "I mean, being taken to the Circle is a dead end for most people, but you... you used it to your advantage. You made your own fate."

"I... suppose I did," she agreed after a moment. "I know it feels like the end of the world, but I promise it's not." They both glanced up at the Breach. "Well, not yet anyway." Blue laughed a small laugh, eyes cast downward.

"Thank you, ma'am," she said as Vivienne turned to start the walk back to Haven.

"You may call me Vivienne, darling."


	2. Compassion

"It's not you," Cole's voiced echoed through the previously silent hall; Vivienne jumped, looked up from her book, sighed impatiently at the sight of the boy lingering in the edges of the candlelight.

"I don't want to talk, demon," she said, returning to her reading. "Why don't you go pester Blue, hmm?" He hesitated in the doorway, took a few steps closer.

"It's not you," he repeated. "You think she protects you because she thinks you're incapable, but that's not it. When she fights a group, she kills the mages first. They're dangerous. _You're_ dangerous." Trying her best to look disinterested, she peeked over the top edge of her book as he continued. "She knows you're a capable fighter, and she knows that they know that. So she puts herself between you and them. She doesn't need to, you don't need her to, but it makes her feel better."

"I believe I told you to leave," she snapped, and just like that, without so much as a step, he was gone. She rolled her eyes, buried herself in her book, but somewhere deep inside of her a sliver of resentment fell away. So Blue _didn't_ think her helpless after all. For a moment it was a comfort— then she shivered, bristled at the realization that somehow the Inquisitor's pet demon had done exactly what he'd come to do; poke around in her mind and 'fix' things as he saw fit. Entirely inappropriate, and she made a mental note to tell Blue exactly that.

* * *

 **Remember when I said I hate coming up with titles? I only stuck with Blue Iron because when I googled it to see if blue iron is even a thing, it gave me pictures of actual blue clothing irons and I laughed so hard I choked. The title stays, and my ship has a symbol. Excellent.**


	3. Possibility

"Dorian, may we have a moment?" Blue asked, reaching for Vivienne as she spoke; Redcliffe Castle may have been crumbling around them but she couldn't take another second of seeing Vivienne reduced to _this._ Terrified, a waver permanently running through her once fearless voice. Shoulders held too high, too tightly, her stride more of a shuffle and even that is almost too much. She pretends she doesn't need to stop to catch her breath so Blue spends a while longer than necessary looking through chests. She needed to say something, apologize, promise to fix it—

"If you make it _very_ quick, I'll allow it," he conceded, glancing at the others; Varric shrugged, and if Leliana had heard the question she'd opted not to answer. So Blue took the mage's hand—gently, not missing the way she'd flinched at her movement—and led her into one of the smaller rooms off the great hall.

"Vivienne…" she said softly, looking into once brown eyes marred with red. "You're still using the staff I made you."

"I'm amazed they let me keep it," she said. There was that quake, that quiver in her voice whether from fear or illness or both, Blue didn't know, but her heart ached. "I suppose they knew nothing I did, no escape attempts I made would make any difference."

"It's dangerous to underestimate you," Blue said, and Vivienne scoffed.

"I'm a danger to no one," she spat bitterly. "Do you know I only fought for a month? After that I sat quietly in my cage like a good, well-mannered lady and let myself rot. Look at me. What danger do I pose?" Pale hands cupped brown cheeks, thumbs swept over cheekbones. "I carved your name in the staff the first day and decided I would fight. For you, for the hope you might come back someday and find that I never broke. How disappointed you must be."

"No, never," Blue insisted, and with a split second of thought, she leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together. "I'm only sorry it took me so long to get here. This is all my fault, I should have gone to the Templars instead. It was a risky plan from the start and I'm not even the one paying for it." They were quiet for a moment, breathing together, sharing warmth—and Vivienne's hands were so cold on hers, her cheeks so cold and sunken under her palms. The silence shattered as the walls shook again, and that horrible screech echoed through the place; Vivienne's grip on Blue's hands tightened but otherwise she didn't react.

"Hate to rush you, but we need to get to it," Dorian called from the hall. "Right about now. Sooner if possible?"

"Vivienne, I…" she paused, took a breath. "I'm sorry, but this is going to get worse before it gets better. It's almost over."

"I _will_ fight for you," Vivienne swore under her breath. "I couldn't before, but you're here now. I'll do whatever I can to help, whatever I must."

"I hate that you have to," Blue sighed, eyes closed, knowing full well that when this was over the other women wouldn't remember any of this. She would once again be tall, unbreakable, flawless, her voice lilting and confident and her hands warm and strong. But this moment, this intimacy, gone. A whisper of what could have been, of what could be—a small, brief, sputtering flame in the darkness. Dry, cracked lips found hers and stayed only a moment before pulling back.

"I'm sure if—when—you get back, I'll laugh if you tell me of this," Vivienne murmured, their noses brushing. "But my dear, even if I laugh in your face I want you to know I do want this. I do now, I did then. I'm a fool. Don't let me be."

"I won't," Blue whispered fervently, regarding Dorian's increasingly impatient calls. "We should go." They rejoined the others, all traces of intimacy gone save for the glances as they breached the throne room. The warm glow of a barrier- Vivienne's barrier, she knew it well—enveloped her frequently as they fought with Alexius. And when Leliana and Varric agreed to hold off the approaching army, the look Blue and Vivienne shared was full of promises, apologies, regrets. The doors closed, and the next time they opened she had to look away because she couldn't bear to see someone so vibrant and electric tossed aside like a piece of garbage—

* * *

And when they reappear back in the throne room her eyes prickle with furious tears and she rounds on Alexius because _how fucking dare_ he—but Vivienne is there. She stands tall and strong, electricity crackling at her fingertips and her expression _politely alarmed_ as she watches the scene unfolding before her. Even when the King of Ferelden himself marches in with a full compliment of guards, she can't stop watching Vivienne, can barely focus enough to conscript the mages to their service. The ride back to Haven is boisterous, victorious, because none of them had seen what she'd seen. It was, by all accounts, a victory. Only Vivienne notices her silence.

"Is something the matter, my dear?" she asks, riding up beside Blue. "We've been traveling half an hour and you haven't pointed out a single unusual bird." She doesn't respond; she isn't sure how, what to say, where to begin.

"What we saw…" she starts. "Alexius sent us forward in time."

"Truly?" Vivienne says, facing forward and frowning thoughtfully. "What happened, then? You looked rather upset and… ah… bloody when you returned?" She runs over everything in her mind, sneaks a glance at the woman next to her and feels relief at the healthy glow in her cheeks, the clear deep brown of her eyes, and no trace of red anywhere but the jewels in her custom-made armor.

"We'll be discussing it at length when we return," she says, on a whim reaching over and adjusting a wrinkle in the cloth of the armor she'd made. "You're welcome to join us at the war table if you'd like. It was… it was not a good future."

"But you know now what this Elder One is planning, yes?" Vivienne, ever the opportunist, smiles brightly. "And when you know the dance well enough, you can ensure you're always one step ahead."

"True enough," Blue says. "But if you'd seen it… Vivienne, it was… you were…"

"Whatever I was then, I'm not right now," she reassures her, and her tone is so matter-of-fact that Blue manages a smile.


	4. Spontaneity

"Why not?" Blue asked, feeling the pout on her lips but unable to stop it.

"Would you like a list?" Vivienne whispered into the dark, casting a glance around. "There are guards-"

"Nah, I told them to find somewhere else to guard for an hour or two," the elf said dismissively. "Any other concerns?"

"That there are _no_ guards," Vivienne shot back, arms crossing tightly across her chest, hip tilted forward slightly. "We'll be rather... exposed, don't you think?"

"Well the guards haven't _left_ , they're just... nearby. Near enough to help if there's trouble, far enough they're not watching."

"Unless they're voyeurs."

"Hmm, true," Blue furrowed her brow, eyed the ground thoughtfully, shrugged. "It's dark anyway, they won't be able to see anything."

"And if Sera or Blackwall should wake up?" Vivienne pressed, but there was a note of resignation in her voice, and Blue clung to it, sensing victory.

"If anyone comes out of the tents, hide behind me," Blue insisted. With no warning she pulled her nightshirt over her head, holding it out in front of her to make sure it was folded along the seams. "I'm going in, with or without you." Vivienne's eyes darted away, cheeks suddenly warm.

"Oh Maker..." she muttered. "Fine. But for the record, Inquisitor, I wouldn't even _consider_ this if I wasn't in such dire need of a bath."

"That Fereldan air is invigorating, isn't it?" Blue mused, setting her folded shirt on the bank, shedding her pants next. "The sweet smell of dog, burning, and of course demon muck. Though to be fair, that's everywhere these days." Hesitating only a moment, Vivienne followed the Inquisitor's lead, shirt first, then pants.

"Don't forget the slightest hint of Blight." Vivienne stood on the bank next to Blue, scanning the area nervously, her arms returning to their usual position across her chest. They stood, appraising the water quietly, noting the way the glassy surface rippled slightly with the breeze, the moon's reflection distorting, shimmering.

"Looks cold," Blue noted, and Vivienne nodded in silent agreement. "Well... ladies first."

"Oh no, beauty before age, my dear."

"That's still you, Vivienne. We could draw straws, or both go in at the count of three. Thoughts?"

" _Thoughts_!" Vivienne said with a sharp sigh. "I _think_ I must have taken a harder blow to the head than I realized this morning, to even be considering this." At that Blue stooped, plucked a handful of grass, held it out towards her friend.

"Shortest blade goes first," she said, and they both chose a blade, pulled them out of the bunch.

"This is hardly fair," Vivienne protested, staring in dismay at her grass while Blue held hers up triumphantly. "You could have... I don't know, arranged the blades somehow so that..." The elf's grin grew wider by the second, and Vivienne sighed heavily, letting her arms fall to her sides.

"Alright," she drawled, taking a hesitant step towards where the water lapped at the pebbled shore. "I _cannot_ believe I let you talk me into this..." Deciding it better to go quickly than to drag it out, she plunged her foot in all at once and regretted it immediately, letting out a muffled groan, balling her fists, and bristling at the unmistakable _chitter_ of stifled laughter from behind her. "Is there something funny, Inquisitor?"

"Of course not," Blue insisted, but her voice shook with the effort of keeping steady. "I just... had a tickle in my throat, that's all."

"I'm sure," Vivienne said, wading in further, up to her knees now. "Well, my dear? Will you be joining me, or was this all part of a cruel prank? I assure you, should you take my clothes and run you will live just long enough to regret it."

"I would never do that to you," Blue insisted, shuffling towards the water's edge, eyeing it apprehensively. "Just let me work up to it."

"Sometime before the guards come back, Inquisitor," Vivienne pressed, casting another glance around the surrounding woods.

"Just... just give me a-" she was cut off by a hand around her wrist and a sharp tug just forceful enough to send her stumbling into the knee deep water.

"Ohhhh nooooo," she whined under her breath, every muscle in her body tensing as she waddled further in. "I should have pushed you in, you absolute monster." Vivienne let out a laugh, as loudly as she dared.

"Need I remind you whose idea this was in the first place?" she said, smiling widely despite herself, teeth chattering.

"We need to get out of the wind _immediately_ ," Blue insisted, shifting their hands so that she was holding Vivienne's wrist, and they waded further into the lake, into deeper water.

"I don't even want to _think_ about what could be lurking in this water," Vivienne shuddered, letting herself be led for what must have been the first time in years.

"So don't."

"There may be something dangerous, something... hungry. What would people say if the Inquisitor met her end chasing a whim?"

"Josephine would find some way to make it sound heroic. She could tell people you fell in and I jumped in to save you." The water was up to their waists now, but they didn't stop, feeling their way along the mucky bottom with careful feet.

"That's just selflessly idiotic enough to be something I'd believe you actually did."

Blue chuckled, shifting their hands again, now so that she was holding Vivienne's fingers.

"There was a compliment hidden in there somewhere," she smiled.

"And an insult," Vivienne reminded her, sure that if it weren't for the freezing water, she would be uncomfortably warm. "I trust you didn't miss that part." When the water reached their necks, Blue released her hand, and they swam out a few more feet until the muddy bottom was out of reach.

"I don't supposed _you_ thought to bring the soaps?" Vivienne asked forlornly, suddenly struck by how flimsy her excuse for agreeing to this had been. The thought of washing in the mud and bits of debris swirling about her legs was _not_ a pleasant one.

"Hmm..." Blue hummed. "Shit." For a moment they stared blankly at each other, Blue looking bemused and Vivienne more exasperated by the second.

"Inquisitor, I..." she trailed off, but Blue's face was so _something_ , so... _adorable_ , she had no choice but to let out a short burst of loud laughter.

"Shshhhhhh," Blue chuckled, leaning forward. But the more Vivienne tried to stifle her laughter, the funnier it sounded, and the more Blue laughed along, their occasional halfhearted _shushes_ doing nothing to actually calm them.

"Admit... admit you really _wanted_ to do this," Blue said, her voice wavering and trilling both from the cold and from the giggles bubbling up from deep down. "And that bathing was just an excuse." Vivienne shook her head, teeth clattering together as she composed herself enough to answer.

"Never," was all she said, meeting Blue's gaze and holding it. Laughter faded to giggles, giggles faded to chuckles, and Blue's stomach fluttered nervously as it often did when the enchanter was around. They'd drifted closer, much closer over the course of their episode, and she realized suddenly that she could practically see herself reflected in the other woman's eyes, could feel every breath and smell fading perfume.

"You have freckles," Vivienne remarked in a hushed tone, eyes darting over Blue's face, across blue tattoos, trembling lips, wide, cat like eyes. "I'd never noticed before." But before Blue could respond, there was a rustle from the camp, and one of the tents shook.

"Oh wonderful," she huffed, swimming around Vivienne, blocking her from the view of whoever was about to emerge from the tent.

"Please Maker let it be Blackwall," Vivienne breathed. "Anyone but- "

"People are sleepin' here, Inky- _tryin_ ' to anyway. You wanna maybe keep your wanking quiet? I know, makes you giggly, but-" Sera's voice carried easily across the surface of the water, broke off suddenly. "Hang on is that..." Suddenly wide awake, she scrambled out of the tent entirely and to the water's edge. "Vivvy, didn't think you were the s _wimming_ type!" Her eyes drifted downward, to the two sets of clothes folded neatly on the bank. " _WOOAAAHHHH_ are you naked out there?!"

"I am. Vivienne isn't. She's still got her underclothes on." Sera saw through the lie, eyes narrowing as her hands came to rest on her hips.

"Then why're you hiding behind elfy, there?"

"Because despite my near -nudity I still have a modicum of dignity- "

"You said you had a _moody cum_?!" Sera asked incredulously. "I _knew_ it! I'm proud of you Inky! "

"No, no, _modicum_ ," Vivienne snarled. "It means 'a small amou- '"

"I know what it means," Sera giggled. "Any time _you_ do it it's _bound_ to be moody."

"Sera, please," Blue pleaded, somehow managing, despite the cold, to feel her cheeks warming. "We're just swimming. There's nothing inappropriate going on." And Sera frowned at the admission.

"Well why not?" she deadpanned. "Might as well be, right? You think I haven't noticed how sparkly-eyed you get around her, Inky? Your taste stinks, but whatever floats your boat, right? So why aren't you floating _her_ boat right now?"

"Sera..."

"Here, I'll help- "

" _Sera_!"

"N-not like that." They watched helplessly as Sera, mischievous grin returning, bent down, gathered their clothes.

"Drop the clothes, Sera," Blue warned, swimming forward until her feet found purchase in the mud.

"You two spend some more time out there together," Sera said, dancing back from the water's edge. "And in the woods, in the dark, together, looking for your clothes. Or not looking." She turned, darted away into the wilderness.

"Oh for the love of..." Blue sighed heavily, turning to face Vivienne. "I... ok, here's the plan..." Vivienne raised an eyebrow patiently, tilted her head. "I'll get out first, get the blanket from our tent, and since this is entirely my fault, you can wait by the fire while I find our clothes. And maybe murder Sera."

"Whichever of us sees her first gets that honor," Vivienne said, clearly in agreement with the plan. Blue laughed softly.

"Just to be clear..." she said. "Don't _actually_ murder Sera."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Blue continued to shore while Vivienne waited a short distance out, the water just above her chest. She kept her eyes on the water's surface, brow furrowed when Blue was no longer under the cover of the lake, and kept them there until the elf called her name.

"I'm sorry about all this," she whispered, wrapping the blanket around Vivienne's shoulders and leading her to the fire, guiding her to sit on the log. "We shouldn't have- "

"Quite the contrary, darling," Vivienne said, one hand snaking out from under the blanket to grasp Blue's wrist lightly. "We should do this again some time. Somewhere warmer, perhaps?"

"Oh," Blue, suddenly feeling very exposed now that she was standing in the firelight, laughed nervously. "I... of course. Maybe leave Sera at Skyhold next time?"

"Oh yes, no _maybe_ about it," Vivienne laughed, releasing the pale, slender wrist, pulling the blanket tighter around herself and smiling fondly as her friend retreated into the woods, chasing the devious cackle drifting out from the brush.


	5. Jealousy

"She's jealous." Cole's eyes stay fixed on the forest floor, his hat covering any clues his face might have offered as to what he meant.

"Who is?" Blue asks. The two of them are alone today, wandering through the Emerald Graves in relative silence.

"Vivienne," he says. "Love should be simple, honest, but for her it has to be a game. A show. She sees the way Sera looks at you. She wishes you would look at her like that but she doesn't know you _do—_ she doesn't see it for the same reason you don't see it. You always look away."

"I… think we need to have a talk about privacy?" Blue starts uncertainly, but her heart is pounding in her chest. "But as long as we've breached the subject…. Vivienne is jealous… of _Sera_?"

"Yes?" Cole says hesitantly. "Of Sera. Of you. She wishes she didn't have to wear the mask even when she's _not_ wearing it."

"But back to what you said before…" Blue tries to guide the conversation subtly, afraid that pushing too hard would set the spirit on a different path. "You said she wishes I would look at her like Sera looks at me." Cole stops, raises his head, eyes on some point in the distance.

 _"The little elf runs into the Chantry, interrupts a conversation with a laugh like a sickened horse. Eyes dark with want, arms possessive around the Herald's shoulders. Searing anger burns in my stomach—the invisible mask itches around my eyes, always there, even when it's not. That should be me but appearances are everything. Love like that, open, honest, simple… is not for me. Will never be for me. Wish she'd look at me the way the little elf looks at her._ " Blue narrows her eyes, remembering the day in question. "She's hurting. You can help."

"But… she must know how I feel about her, right? I've all but told her."

"She suspects. But she doesn't know how to take off the mask without ripping away a lot of herself with it. So, she let you go. Sera doesn't have a mask. _She deserves at least that much._ "


End file.
